Rolling Hills High grad Peter Salovey named president-elect of Yale

Under normal circumstances, it might be a stretch to say Peter Salovey, the new president-elect of Yale University, is a product of the South Bay.

Currently the provost of the Ivy League institution, Salovey - who takes the helm in June - spent only one year in Rancho Palos Verdes, finishing his high school career at what used to be Rolling Hills High, now Peninsula High. But the native of upstate New York made the academic year of 1975-76 count.

By the end of it, he'd acted in several school plays, won admission to Stanford University and, after some controversy regarding his status as a newcomer, earned the title of valedictorian.

Perhaps most importantly, that year forced him out of his social comfort zone.

"It helped make me a resilient person, and to make friends easily," Salovey, 54, told the Daily Breeze in a phone interview.

To this day, the resident of New Haven, Conn., regularly meets with a group of old pals from the Rolling Hills drama department in various parts of the country.

The trauma of the cross-country move all those decades ago no doubt sharpened Salovey's social skills and maybe even informed his mastery of a subject area that would become his claim to academic fame.

A renowned psychologist, Salovey and colleague John Mayer co-authored a paper in 1990 that helped develop the concept of emotional intelligence. Back then, it was a radical notion. Today, it's practically a household term that describes the ability to identify, assess and control the emotions of oneself or others.

"I don't know if it was the first time the term was ever used, but it was the first time the idea was issued into the literature" of academe, said Salovey, who has authored or edited 13 books and published hundreds of journal articles and essays.

"It took a little while to catch on. ... Now it's very popular in schools as something to teach kids, or in business settings as a sort of soft skill: Why are some people better at leading teams than others?"

Salovey for four years has been Yale University's provost, which is akin to a vice president. On Nov. 8, after a competitive process involving more than 150 candidates, Yale's board of directors unanimously selected Salovey as the university's 23rd president. Salovey, a Yale employee for some three decades, officially takes the helm on June 30, when current leader Richard Levin is expected to retire.

Known on campus for his approachability and warmth, Salovey touts the importance of breaking down psychological barriers between faculty and students. Living by this ethos, he plays double bass in a campus bluegrass band that he founded 20 years ago. Called the Professors of Bluegrass, the band includes students and faculty alike.

"Students are always better musicians than the faculty," he said. "That immediately changes the dynamic, in a good way. ... It is a little bit of a role reversal."

As the next leader of Yale, Salovey envisions a more accessible institution, both to deserving students who can't afford tuition and the general public. He also advocates the idea of making more of Yale's "treasure" available for free online.

In interviews with the hiring committee, he stressed the importance of continuing a tradition of trail blazing.

"Yale was the first university to grant a Ph.D. to an African-American," said Salovey, who lives with his wife, fellow Yale graduate Marta Elisa Moret. "We had the first university-based art museum. ... How are we going to be innovative now?"

Salovey's parents still live in Rancho Pales Verdes. It was his mother, Elaine, who notified the Daily Breeze of Salovey's latest accomplishment. She also offered some of the more flattering accounts of her son, who doesn't seem to be the bragging type.

The family moved to The Hill from a suburb of Buffalo when Salovey's father, Ron, landed a job as a research chemist at USC.

"The school (near Buffalo) wanted to keep (Peter), because he was such an excellent student," Elaine recalled. The principal even offered lodging.

Ron and Elaine weren't authoritarian types, but urged their eldest of three children to come out West.

"I said, `We're a family. Please consider moving with all of us,"' said Elaine, a retired registered nurse.

Salovey stuck with his clan. At Rolling Hills High, he was embraced by the theater department and acted in a bunch of productions: "Fiddler on the Roof," "The Odd Couple," "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown."

He excelled academically, and by year's end had a GPA high enough to qualify for valedictorian. Administrators fretted about granting the title to a newcomer, and Elaine advocated for her son.

"I argued with the powers that be; I said, `You can't do that to a child,"' she said.

They relented, bestowing the honor to Salovey and another student.

"That was the first year they had two valedictorians," she said.

Despite his participation in the drama club, Salovey said he was really more of a math and science type. It was his younger brother, Todd, who went on to become a professional in theater. Also the product of the drama department at Rolling Hills High, Todd is the associate artistic director of the San Diego Repertory Theatre.

The family plans to get together for Thanksgiving at Todd's home in La Jolla. They will have plenty to celebrate.

"We'll have to have some balloons on the table," Elaine said.

Salovey attended Yale as a graduate student, and since then has served as a professor, dean and department head.

"Peter brings a profound understanding of Yale, and great ambitions for advancing the university in the years ahead," Edward Bass, senior corporation fellow of the university's governing board, said in a statement announcing the decision. "The trustees were inspired by Peter's impeccable integrity and character, and by his unwavering commitment to excellence."

Salovey and Moret, who have no children, met as graduate students at Yale. She is the president of the New Haven-based Urban Policy Strategies, an evaluation research and policy consulting group aimed at bridging the gap between the research and science of public health, education and social services and the best practices of community organizations.